Wrong Time of the Year for the Holidays?

The American consumer, I have heard, holds the key to stemming the tide of bad economic news. It is simple really. Go forth and spend money like there is no tomorrow...and for once that might be right....THERE MAY BE NO TOMORROW.

OK, seriously. How does this work? Investments have taken a beating, Job security ain’t what it used to be. Many folks are working but are “underemployed”. Money is tight. No credit, no certainty that it is not going to get (a lot) worse. And yet, if we stay at home during the holiday season, and avoid buying the IPods, the Abercrombie and Fitch sweatshirts, and this season’s Pet Rocks that we all need so desperately, the economy will suffer even further, and we will nosedive ever closer to an even worse downturn.

Is there some sort of signal that is emitted when this recession becomes a “depression”? And if not, perhaps we are already there. I am just about ready to stop watching the news, because, frankly, it is depressing. Seems like depression is at hand.

Thanksgiving Day is a week away, and after that, the Christmas shopping season begins in earnest. I am guessing there will be parking near the door this year. A lot will have to change in the next week to reverse the mindset that this year is a time for restraint, if not outright rejection of the end of the year shopping binge.

Perhaps this will be that holiday season where we set aside our materialistic impulses and appreciate our friends and family as the gifts they are. Maybe that starts at Thanksgiving as we appreciate the irony of a huge meal amidst such uncertainty. There will no doubt be more hungry folks this year, as we sit down to carve a turkey...maybe even you, or me.

In seasons past, we have all dutifully reached into our wallets and done our duty as consumers despite the times. That seems all but impossible now. The sting of this season will be felt in the retail stores, and that will surely add to the bad news. But what will be the long term cost as we turn our backs on the retail establishments in our home towns? Will this finally spell the end of the mom and pop boutique? Will Wal-Mart finally take over everything and leave us with no other shopping options? How can we combat the reality of cheap prices at the expense of employees, suppliers, and land use planning. Do we kiss Main Street goodbye once and for all? Before we drive past the small businesses en route to the big box outside of town, perhaps we’ll find “rock star parking” near our local shops...the mom and pop liquor store, the toy store that sells only toys, and the clothing store that might not even have a website. Think of all the cheap gas we will save.

The Economy...For the Birds

I was sitting at my desk this morning. It was a beautiful fall day in the Bay Area...the kind of day you can open the doors and let the fresh air in. As I did just that, I was struck by a sound. Birds--hundreds of them, chirping and twittering and clucking and squawking. I stepped out side to find the source...a large elm tree to the south of my office filled with what seemed like thousands of birds, though I could not see but one or two. I closed my eyes to focus on the sound. It was quite similar to what I imagined the South American rain forest to sound like. It was loud and complicated like an orchestra without a conductor, and amidst the randomness of the sounds and the diversity of types of noise, emerged a sort of swirling pattern. It was wondrous. I have never heard so many birds, making so much noise so near to me. I paused for several minutes just to listen and observe what I could through the foliage. Then suddenly, as if on some prearranged cue, the tree shed itself of every bird as they roared off to the south in a well defined group, soaring at first high, and then swooping downward, before setting off to some other tree, perhaps some miles away. Perhaps they had stopped for a bit of lunch or a rest in the protective limbs of the great old tree and when the break was over, they headed off as if on some sort of schedule. Perhaps an unseen predator was near. Perhaps they had liberated the tree of its surplus bug population and it was time to dine elsewhere. In any event, when the signal was given to go....they did.

How difficult, I thought, it must be to be a bird nowadays. Large trees capable of holding hundreds of birds are few and far between. With vanishing habitat, global warming, and pollution complicating the lives of birds, and other creatures with as much right to be here as we humans, it must not be easy to be a bird just now. And just when there is momentum toward taking the threats seriously, a serious recession, perhaps a global depression, we may, in fact, turn to trying to eat them. Instead of tackling climate change and global warming, we will instead do what ever it takes to keep the economy moving ahead, including lowering the price of gasoline, so that automakers can continue to turn out fuel thirsty cars.

We will assist automakers, to keep them up and running, without demanding that they begin to retool and begin producing cars that respect our diminishing fuel supply, and stop belching greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. We will burn coal instead of erecting windmills. Solar energy will have to wait a bit longer before its day in the sun. And every day of inaction brings us closer to the day when it will no longer matter.

The news continues to be bad in the economic world, and when we speak of the global economy, it appears perhaps more than people around the world are affected. Perhaps the bad economic news spells trouble for the birds as well...and the frogs, and the polar bears, and the fish in the sea.

Its the Little Things

Doom and gloom is hard to ignore on the TV, on the Radio and all over the front pages of newspapers and magazines. We are in for some hard times, and I wonder if we are really up to it. We are out of practice when it comes to scrimping and saving. But when the largest companies in the country are teetering, and the layoffs approach millions, it is hard to ignore, much less be pithy or even humorous.

And yet, there are so many things that we might do without that might make us more efficient. Lots of little things might add up to some big things. And maybe, in the process, we could become less wasteful. Painless frugality to save the day.

First of all...mattress tags. It seems like it has been a long time since the mattress police took their job seriously. I have removed literally dozens of these tags. I believe I have even done so in a store, where clearly, I was not, at that moment, a consumer. What do you suppose it costs to cut print and stitch these tags onto mattresses, pillows, cushions and comforters? If it costs a penny, and we eliminate them, that puts like $6,754, 659.07 right back into the economy (more or less).

And what about ink cartridges for our computer printers? I purchased recently a cartridge #78 for my HP Office Jet printer. It came wrapped in hard plastic shell, and inside that was a cardboard box. Within the box, a plasticized aluminum pouch hermetically sealed with a product that I apparently should not eat, because it says so right on the pouch. Nothing else in the package suggested I should not eat it, so I assume I could, in a pinch, dine on the packaging....but seriously...get over yourselves. One package is enough...there is no reason for three...it is wasteful of resources, money, and it takes a lot more time to open when I get home. Did I mention I carried the purchase home in a plastic bag? Really, if HP eliminated two layers of packaging, I am sure millions of dollars are saved. Trees as well. See, this is easy.

While we are on the subject of plastic bags....let’s eliminate all bags from retail establishments. Bring your own damn bag, and if you don’t, you get to carry the stuff out without benefit of a container. In a very short time, we would all get good at remembering to bring our own bags. I kick myself every time I forget all the reusable grocery sacks we have collected over the years...they sit in the back of my car awaiting use. Today, with the cart almost full, I ditched it in a quiet corner and ran out to the car to retrieve the bags I had forgotten to bring. They are much stronger, hold more groceries, and that means less trips from the curb to the kitchen. I have teenage children, so all the grocery carrying is my job and I am fond of limiting my trips back and forth. I don’t know what the savings here are, but it helps those businesses in the reusable sack manufacturing industry.

As we just passed Halloween, another opportunity I noticed. “Fun Size” candy bars packed in plastic bags. Why not sell the candy in bulk, by pound. As we do almonds, dried apricots and apples. The candy bars are all individually wrapped anyway. They need no additional protection. That way, you can customize your order. Lot’s of Reese’s, not so many Three Musketeers, and we can just leave the Tootsie Rolls to....well...there must be someone who eats Tootsie Rolls....I think my daughter gives them to the dog.

The list could go on. I am sure we all have our pet peeves. I think soap bars are over packaged—some are in cardboard boxes wrapped in plastic shrink wrap. Really? Is that necessary, and I think we wrap too many things in plastic in general. I find it interesting that plastic bags come in cardboard boxes, while a ream of copier paper is wrapped in plastic. Someday, someone can explain why hot dogs come in packs of 10 while the buns are 8 to a bag. Someone missed a meeting.

Anyway, if we pay attention to all these little things, maybe we can save industry enough money to keep the economy from collapsing, and then we can look at some of the more complicated issues. Like why my 19 year old son keeps getting credit card offers....I mean, isn’t that how we all got in this mess to begin with?

No Veteran's Day?

Happy Veteran’s Day. This is a day to offer our thanks to those who have put their lives on the line to fight for the many liberties that we citizens enjoy. The men and women from all the conflicts that have been fought over the last century or so have served with bravery and honor, and have done so by risking their lives. I imagine there are millions of veterans, having served the frequent conflicts of the 20thm and now the 21st century.

I suppose there might be some veterans left from World War I, but they would be quite old, I should think. Many more from World War II. Their sacrifice and bravery in large part is what made our country what it is today. We owe them our very existence, in some sense. We have also veterans from the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the invasion of Panama, Granada, Kosovo and no doubt other smaller skirmishes, some perhaps without names. And of course, our nation is churning out a great many more veterans as we fight two wars, in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Wouldn’t it be nice, though, if there was a passage of time where there were no new veterans. Where our nation, and those sharing the planet with us, opted to resolve our differences through negotiation, and we fought no wars for a generation or two or three. What if 100 years passed and we did not fight a war? Would there be any veterans left? Daresay their care at places like Walter Reed would have to improve quite a lot for any current veterans to live another 100 years.

I have nothing against veterans. Absolutely not. I would just like to see their numbers shrink, but instead, the veteran population is growing all the time. Alas, in the process, we are also increasing the numbers we must remember on Memorial Day. Sadly, we do not even have a special day for those that will spend the rest of their life in some sort of damaged state as a result of the wars we have fought. In some sense, those that left a part of themselves on the battlefield are the ones that truly need our help, our appreciation, and our admiration, perhaps more so than any group of veterans. They deserve a day to call their own. Those that have given a limb, or two, or have lost the use of their limbs, their eyes, their ears, or those who have suffered such anguish that their thoughts have turned against them. These folks need a day where we consider their sacrifice. Hero Appreciation Day. Victims of Foreign Wars. Can’t even think of a good name.

The United States military is the finest in the world. When motivated, and fighting a just war, we are pretty much undefeated. When, however, we fight wars that are the result of leaders who have misunderstood their responsibility, the results are a mixed bag. I am hopeful we can end, soon, the ongoing creation of new veterans, and that the future leaders of this country will understand, once and for all, that the enormous might of the United States military carries with it the enormous responsibility of using only when there is no other option. We have become cavalier in our decisions to go to war. Here’s hoping we can go 100 years before fighting, so that we can fully appreciate the veterans we already have, without adding to their numbers.

To those that have served, thank you. Help our leaders understand why your sacrifice should not be offered in haste.

Elections are Easy...Leadership? Seems hard...

Be careful what you wish for. Heard that phrase before? Now that the Democrats are back in power, you can hear the early rumblings...permanent progressive majority....Republicans banished to the wilderness....It is all going to be wine and roses now...careful boys and girls....this is where it gets tricky. Often, it seems, a president swept in with such a mandate, overreaches, and sends the pendulum hurdling back the other direction. This time, however, the stakes are too high. Simply put, the new governing party MUST be successful, and in short order. This will be a challenge. This might even be impossible.

Before we start shunning the conservatives....before we mock them and laugh at their pitiful waste of the last 8 years, we might want to accomplish a thing or two....and here is a thought, why not include them in the success...make them team mates rather than opponents. Remember the big boat we are on, the USS AMERICA? Well we are all in it together, and if it avoids the jagged rocks, the tumbling rapids and deadly falls, we all stand to gain.

The shrillness of the autopsy of the McCain campaign, while entertaining, has little to do with what we should be focusing on. Frankly, I am not savvy enough to know who should fill what post and how quickly the posts should be filled. I just know that just like Obama was the smart guy running for the presidency, he ought to make sure that each pick is the smartest person he could pick. We are going to need a lot of smart people. Black and white, male and female, republican, democrat and independent...choose the best person from that pool of people.

I am probably not the right choice, but if there is anything I can do, you can always reach me right here!

Your Services are No Longer Required

Dear President Bush,

After 8 years of service, it has come to the attention of the electorate that your service to this nation is no longer required. Though clearly the duration of your service is at its natural end, you should know that were that not the case, and were you eligible to remain in your current post, we would still seek to end your relationship with us, the American people. We have been all but unable to find anyone who still offers any support for your methods or affection for your once endearing folksiness. We hereby seek to terminate your contract with this nation for cause and with prejudice.

Furthermore, should you look to use this position as a springboard to other posts, we think it best that you not call on us for a reference or letter of recommendation. Simply put, your work has been shoddy, and it appears that you have difficulty completing any task on which you embark. It will take your successor considerable time and valuable energy and resources to tie up the loose ends you leave behind. Were there any way it could be done, it would be a fitting servitude to ask that you clean up these various messes, but there is simply no longer sufficient resources to risk having you further bungle things.

It appears that your staff has not served you well either. Your second in command appears to have ruffled the feathers of nearly every person he has influence over or contact with, and in general, the entire lot of them do not take criticism or advice particularly well. Though difficult to prove, it also appears that a number of them lied....to you, to the media, and to their employers. It is frankly difficult to find instances where they were honest for any stretch of time, or in any important context. You should be advised that, for the most part, it is our intent to dismiss them along with you.

It always seemed as if things were done “your way or the highway” and frankly, that approach has not yielded much fruit. As a word of advice...get some help, literally and figuratively. It seems that unresolved issues with your father have tripped you up on an occasion or two, and so you may want to talk to someone about that. Professionally, you seem at times over matched, and the job appears to have grown beyond your abilities. Your crisis management has been uneven at best, with occasional glimmers of success, offset by abject failures, and repercussions of these stumbles are with us to this day.

We understand that our displeasure with your performance might come as a shock. Your subordinates have, alas, shielded you from many realities. In your next endeavor, you may want to consciously involve yourself with people of divergent opinions from your own. You may wind up learning something from them, and their input may save you from duplicating the same types of missteps taken in your current position. It appears that you treat dissent and disagreement as somehow inappropriate or dangerous. You may want to brush up on the history of the nation you have been serving. Dissent has led to some positive changes. In fact, your successor’s rise to power can be traced not indirectly to people that chose to speak out against injustice some 40 years ago.

In closing, we’d like to request that you not do anything any of us will regret in the future. Leave the silver in the cabinet, keep the special pen used for pardoning safely stored and do not consider using it. Help yourself to as many paperclips as you wish to have, and the stationary with your name on it is yours to keep. Try not to start any more wars, and this includes border incursions contemplated without provocation. It has been publicized that you will seek to (further) undermine clean air and water standards as you head toward the door. Better to concentrate on putting all the picture frames into proper cardboard boxes. Suspend any further torture activities, in any of the prisons, known and unknown, that you are operating. Please be forthcoming with your successor, and pray that your misdeeds do not lead to more than a simple dismissal.

Though your rent is paid in full through January 20th of 2009, there would not be much resistance should you abdicate your position well in advance of that. Feel free to travel. There are many folks in distant lands that would love to have a word with you. You are hereby encouraged to see what all the fuss is about.

You might also want to begin work on your presidential library. Surely many institutions would be happy to house this facility. You will need to rustle up some books and papers to put in there. It is assumed that most of the documents have been shredded or placed in the secure location along with your vice-president. Someday, these will come to light, and there doubtless will be a lot of folks that want to peruse them as they describe exactly what this nation opted to do to itself over the last 8 years.

We appreciate your cooperation during this delicate time, and we look forward to seeing you at the swearing out ceremony that, in some circles, has already begun on an ad hoc basis.

Regards,

The Citizens of the United States of America
(your employers whom you sought to actively ignore, deceive, and embarrass)

Process is Everything

A troubled country sits under the command of a failed leader...unpopular and waging war in two distant lands, with an economy crushing the populace, and despair and hopelessness having replaced the vibrant optimism of the country. The military is firmly, resolutely behind the leader, despite mounting losses and humbling setbacks in the various military campaigns. Much of the military engagement has been at the whim of the nation’s leadership, a personal vendetta fueling one of the conflicts, while inept leadership has hampered the other. The country’s standing worldwide has slumped, and the leader is reduced to occasional scripted appearances, with little or no interaction with the press. His unpopularity stands in stark contrast to his absolute, unquestioned power.

Time for a coup d’etat? In some parts of the world, perhaps, but in this nation, it is time for an election. Every four years we hold a referendum on the leadership of our nation, and this year, we get to turn the bums out. The problems won’t all go with our outgoing president, but what a marvelous construct is our democracy. Without anyone reaching for a weapon, the most powerful man in this country, really the world, will cede his power to a person, in this case, not even of his own party. He will walk away from the highest office in the land with nary a backward glance. And in 4 years, we will consider the job done by the new president, and re-hire, or fire, him accordingly.

Watching democracy in action is breathtaking. It is easy to dismiss the quaintness of customs and traditions of a bygone era, but consider the documents and processes designed by our nation’s forefathers in the late 18th century, well over 200 years ago. The mechanisms for changing power, for limiting the duration of power, and the creation of numerous checks and balances to limit that power is perhaps man’s most impressive gift to the future. Sure, we will also hand over the miracle of flight, the internal combustion engine, linear accelerators, split atoms, and the thermos, but those inventions will all be upgraded and surpassed in some way. But what we witnessed last night....hard to improve on that.

And so it is, that troubled country, led by a failed president, in a single day of voting, an evening of counting those votes, and then an early morning speech by our next leader, infused with optimism and possibility, restored a measure of hope...without use of a weapon, or a drop of blood. Plenty of sweat, no doubt some prayers, and sore knuckles from knocking upon endless front doors were the tactics by which we replaced our leader. And so it has been for over 200 years, and with luck, so it will continue for centuries to come. We study our nation’s forefathers as characters in our history books, but last night, as they do every 4 years, they were alive once more, walking amongst us.

Generation Why

Today is a special day. For many of us, this will mark election day, but for some, this will also mark the FIRST TIME they have voted. Perhaps they just turned 18 in the last year or so, or perhaps they have felt their vote meant nothing, but this year, somehow, its different. Perhaps the lessons of Florida circa 2000 are still fresh enough that indeed, every vote matters. Perhaps this is the first presidential election they were old enough to vote in. In any event: CONGRATULATIONS!

I have a 19 year old son. He wonders no doubt, why he needs to fill out this form, that looks suspiciously like a test. He wonders why he needs to read all that information in the Voter Pamphlet. He wonders why you cannot vote via video game...which come to think of it , might be something we need to consider at some point. I am assured that he will make the walk, perhaps even through a bit of northern Colorado snow, to the polling place and deliver his ballot. It means something, especially in Colorado, but regardless of location, it means a lot to vote.

To skip voting is a little like ceding control to someone else. You let others make decisions for you. They tell you what to do, where to go, and you just have to go along with it. Does it sound familiar? Yep...that is a bit like having parents when you were a little kid. But as you turn 18, and in the years that follow, we are trusting you to make decisions. You have a stake in this, and it is time to show you are ready.

Besides, all the problems that we face today: they are YOUR problems more than anyone else’s. Some of these issues, like climate control, alternative energy, war, and peace, will be with us for your entire lifetime. The sooner we start solving those problems, the better your life will be.

So vote, my young friends, lest we send you to bed without supper, or take away your allowance.

There, but for the Grace of God...

I was walking my puppy this morning....a 65 pound ball of energy anxious to chase every bird, jump in every puddle and streak up (and then down) every hillside. It was a crisp fall Northern California afternoon. The air was heavy with the smell of Bay Laurel, and the dampness from the heavy rains of yesterday held the promise of winter. Still, the pools of sunshine were still warm, and it was one of those days when a sweatshirt was at once not enough and way too much.

After watching the pup frolic for nearly an hour, it was time to head home. We came upon a scraggly looking fellow on the trail. The puppy barked his fierce bark he reserves for moments when he is startled or truly scared. The man was skinny, and a bit unkempt, and it was quickly apparent that he lived in these woods, near the bottom of this canyon...perhaps in a cave, a storm drain, or some other inadequate type of structure he called “home”. He was belligerent, shouting curses at me and telling me to leash my dog lest he “kick its ass” I daresay the dog might outweigh him. His abrasive demeanor caught me off guard, and I said nothing after calling the dog and attaching his leash. He stalked off muttering, cursing, perhaps baiting me to say something. I sized him up. I have never thrown a punch in anger. Somehow his verbal assault on my dog was bringing my blood to boil. Always a first for everything.

Happily, he took the fork in the trail away from our destination, and we headed up the canyon in a series of switchbacks. After a few minutes, I felt safe to take the dog off leash again, and he happily bounded ahead on the trail, chasing imaginary varmints, and slipping and sliding up and down the slopes. Out of the quiet, the hiker bellowed across the canyon that I better leash my menace of a dog or he would call the pound. His language was a bit more colorful than that, and it was clear he had been stewing on this for the 5 or 6 minutes since our paths had last crossed. There was, if possible, even more anger in his voice than there had been when he was nearer to us.

“The dog is the least of your troubles, dude! Why don’t you come over here and I’ll show you why!” I shouted at the canyon, the hiker invisible in the foliage. I looked around and quickly identified a baseball bat size stick. I awaited a response, but none was offered. Was I serious, I wondered? Was I really going to take on this poor sap? And truth be told, though I have never been in a fight, it occurred to me that he might have been in a scrap or two in his day. Rather than wait to see if he elected to pursue the matter face to face, I leashed the dog and headed up the trail and onward to the safety of the parked car.

As my anger stilled, and my heart rate returned to normal, I began to ponder the incident. How must it be to be a homeless guy, living near a trail popular with folks walking their dogs? How many times a day, or a week, is he hassled by dogs? How many times has he been bitten or chased out of his shelter? How many dogs had discovered his food stash and helped themselves?

I assumed his homelessness was not a choice he had made. He looked grizzled, far older in appearance than in actual years and I imagined he had survived a lot of tough days...grouped together in years or even decades. I was, moments before, ready to take a swing at him or strike him with an oak branch, but a few moments of consideration put a bit different spin on things.
Our nation is heading into tough times. Though I remain hopeful that the election will return some sense of hope to the nation, it is clear that there are still rough waters to be navigated. Foreclosures, unemployment and bankruptcy... how far behind can homelessness be? Was I mad at this guy because he hated my dog, or did I fear what he represented....our nation’s future? My future? I sure hope not...hope being the operative word. Just like I am sure he did not choose the life he had been handed, there will be others that follow his path, despite their efforts, despite their hopes and dreams.

Nothing Left to Say

I don’t really know when it all started. They say 22 months, but really, it is hard to think back to a time when this election was not underway. To some, it probably started the day after we mistakenly offered George Bush another 4 years to undermine the country. And in a very real sense, the Democrats have been trying to wrest control from Bush ever since he and Katherine Harris and the SCOTUS out weaseled Al Gore and took Florida.

But really, the election started the day Senator Obama tossed his hat into the ring and decided to take on the anointed candidate, Hillary Clinton. Really, they were both great candidates, and the toughness of the primary season may in fact be what prepared Obama so well for the tougher campaign to come. But 22 months? So much has changed. Is it really a job worth having? I wonder if the pursuit of the office is all that is left anymore. The job itself will seem anticlimactic, or worse, impossible. Good luck to whoever gets the keys to the White House.

I wonder if next time around, the election will begin 24 months in advance. Like the Christmas season seems to arrive in retail stores earlier and earlier each year, it makes me wonder why they ever bother to take down the holiday lights anymore. Christmas in July? How about Christmas in April? And so it shall go for the elections. Someday, perhaps, the day after inauguration day will be the day when all the candidates for the next cycle openly declare. A permanent state of electioneering. That would never get old, would it?

With all this time to fill, we have really seen the candidates from every angle. The cable news shows, and the network talking heads, the commentariat, and all those that need to fill air time, or columns in newspapers, must find something to say everyday. I pity them. That is why we analyze a poll that shows a move of 1% even though it has a margin of error of 2.6%. In other words, the movement is trivial, illusory, or even, imaginary. It is like discussing a baseball player raising his batting average from .321 to .323. It is only significant if you talk about it. They follow candidates around the battleground states, where they say EXACTLY THE SAME THING as they said at the last stop, or yesterday, or last week. And yet somehow, it needs to be made news.

Oddly, though, with all the information we have and all the facts, lies and innuendo, there are still so many things I have never heard discussed. They may not seem relevant, but how much of what we have heard has really been relevant to the presidency anyway. Why does it matter whether Obama’s aunt is a legal resident? Should he have turned her in? How can he control who he sits on boards with or who’s at a birthday party he attends, and what does that have to do with anything anyway. All the falderal about Reverend Wright was interesting to me because I wonder if bad stuff was being said in churches I attended from time to time. I must say, I sometimes did not focus on it, often preferring to check out the stained glass, or the structure holding the roof, or the exiting strategy. 6 years of architecture school will do that to you. Would I really want to be held responsible for what was said? No one indicated there would be a quiz. We might have been urged to do something untoward....I don’t really know.

In any event, there are things I’d still like to know. What size shoe does Obama wear? What is McCain’s waistline? Do they drive a manual or automatic...can they even drive a stick shift? What are their pet’s names? When they load their dishwasher, is it on the right or left. Do they ever load the dishwasher? What was their favorite childhood book? Ginger or Maryann? Which was their favorite “Angel”? What kind of beer would we find in their refrigerator? What is their favorite movie? What is in their Netflix queue? What is on their Ipod? Which side of the bed do they sleep on? Curly or Shemp? Scooby Doo or Felix the Cat?

As you can see, despite the time that has passed, there is still a lot we have yet to uncover. Perhaps a few more weeks campaigning and we could really get to the bottom of all this.